Here With You
by The Rickaboo
Summary: She thought she had everything she wanted, but then why was he all she could think about? AxelKairi
1. Save Me

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Kingdom Hearts, that's why it's called fanfiction.

**A/n**: This was going to be a oneshot, but I thought it was a bit long to write in one sitting. Please review and let me know what you think, this style is a little different for me. Slight spoiler warning.

**Part One**

It was all over. Here they were, the famous Destiny Islands three. Together and home again. So why wasn't she happy? Leaning even further out the window, Kairi watched her two best friends. They were racing down the beach again, but their wooden swords had been replaced by keyblades. The sun glinted off of the unique weapons unnaturally and Kairi squinted into the sunlight. She held a hand out in front of her face, blocking the bright rays. She glanced down at the beach again, but the two boys were gone. Half of her really hoped they found find her, and the other half prayed that they wouldn't. She didn't know why, but things just weren't right.

Something thumped outside the door and Kairi jumped. She hear Sora calling to her. Looking back out the window again, she hoisted herself up onto the ledge and leapt out onto the soft sand below. Riku had joined in and she felt kind of guilty for hiding from them, but she just didn't feel like herself anymore. Something was missing, and she had a vague idea what it was.

She darted across the warm sand and slipped into the secret place. It was getting harder and harder to fit through the opening. The thought made her heart fall, she hated growing up. Everything changed, especially people. She could remember a time when she had been in love with the boyish charm that used to radiate off of Sora. It was long gone now, replaced by adolescence. It all seemed very morbid to her.

She stood up inside the cave. At least all their drawings were still there. She gazed down at the picture of her and Sora, holding paopu fruit out to each other. Tears formed in her eyes and it felt like her heart was being ripped out. Having the two boys back with her was the only thing she had wanted, and now that they were here she just wanted to be alone.

There was the door, right in front of her. She stepped forward and placed a hand on the smooth wood. It was warm. She sighed and placed her other hand on it as well. Maybe he was there, on the other side of the door. Maybe he was looking for her, too.

She moved forward and leaned against the door, as though it was embracing her. The warmth flooded through her body, making her shiver. She smiled and tears rolled down her cheeks. What a wonderful feeling. Like he was right there with her. Something within the door shifted. She let out a choked laugh.

"I miss you too…" She whispered into the wood.

'_What am I doing? I don't even know him!_' She backed away from the door and all but threw herself from the secret cave.

**xxxxxxx**

It was nearly midnight and Kairi sat on her bed, arms wrapped around her knees and staring out the window. She heard someone open her door, but didn't bother to look.

"Hey, Kairi. Did you want to talk?" Riku asked, sitting down on the bed in front of her. She smiled at him, but couldn't hide the fact that she had been crying.

Sora sat down right behind the silver haired boy and gave her a worried look.

"What's wrong? You've been acting really weird. We know you're avoiding us." He pouted at her sadly.

She shook her head. "I don't know. Something's missing, it just doesn't feel right here. I'll be okay, I just need some time to myself. Thanks for worrying about me though." She leaned forward and gave the two boys a hug.

"Come on Sora." Riku stood up and moved over towards the door.

It was pretty obvious that Sora didn't want to go, but Riku gave him a look that said he'd walk out or be dragged out. Kairi smiled appreciatively at him. They closed the door after them and Kairi sighed deeply. Good thing Riku was at least mature now, she could drop hints just as subtle as she wanted and he'd catch them.

She looked back out the window. Stars glittered in the dark night sky and the moon was slowly rising up over the ocean. For some reason, all she wanted was to be out there, dancing in the surf or playing in the sand. She crept quietly out her window, hoping her mother wouldn't hear her. She dropped down to the grass of her backyard and ran into the trees, ducking away from the light cast by her mother's kitchen. Confident that she had escaped unnoticed, she made her way through the dark palm trees and down the beach to the dock.

**xxxxxxx**

Kairi finished tying her boat to the rickety old dock and stood there for a while, staring up at the stars. It was so beautiful and peaceful out, she wondered why she didn't come here at night more often. She walked quietly out into the sand. It felt strange to her, the sand was cold beneath her feet and the waves seemed quieter now that it was night. Like they were hibernating until day broke again.

She felt awkward, but slowly crept toward the secret place again. She felt safe there, almost like someone was holding her away from the troubles of the outside world. Without even realizing it, she found herself standing before the door again. It was so dark in the cave, only a few rays of moonlight filtered in through the gaps in the rock. Just enough light for her to see the drawings on the walls and the outline of the door. She approached the door carefully, pressing her palms against it.

Something in her heart began to ache and she stared at the door. She felt like it was killing her, but allowing her to live at the same time. Something vital was missing from her life, but it was there. Just beyond the door. If only she could open it. For a moment she actually looked to see if there was a handle or something, but of course, there wasn't. That would be much too easy. She sank down onto her knees, still embracing the door and allowing its warmth to flow into her being.

"I wish I could find a way to open this door. I wish you were here." Tears began to roll down her face and she was rather surprised to find herself crying again.

"I wish I could see you again, just once and I would be happy." She leaned her face against the door and cried softly into the wood.

**xxxxxxx**

Darkness. Everywhere he looked there was darkness and more darkness. Is this what it would be like to be a heartless? What a horrible existence. The bright white halls of Castle Oblivion were preferable to this.

Stepping forward, his heavy boots clicked against the freezing stone floor. He shivered from the cold and wrapped his arms around himself. He wondered for a moment if any other members of the Organization may have been sent here. Laughing out loud, he remembered that he didn't care. He knew the only Organization member that he wanted to see, and chances of that were slim to none. That thought kind of hurt, but he was drifting in an eternal abyss of darkness here. He had bigger things to worry about.

He walked along for a while, almost enjoying the view. At least it was peaceful. But it felt like he had been here for years. A tiny heartless popped up in front of him. He stared at it for a moment. It wiggled its antenna and crept forward, sniffing at him. He smiled down at it and brought his foot back. He kicked the little heartless as hard as he could, watching it fly off into the darkness and hiss angrily at him. He waved rudely at the little creature. If there was anything he hated more than heartless, it was probably the Organization. Well, at least if he was going to be stuck here he could spend eternity terrorizing heartless.

The thought of spending eternity here rang through his mind. That meant he'd never get a chance to see _her _again. Pain stabbed at his heart and he grabbed his chest sadly. He thought for a moment.

"Hey! I have a heart!" He cried happily into the darkness. Figures, when he finally gets a heart he's in the last place where he would want to try and enjoy it.

Wait, did that mean he was a heartless now? And why were the beings that lost their hearts and kept their bodies called "nobodies" anyway? And the Heartless were the ones that stole hearts from people, so they had plenty. '_What a stupid idea! Who thought of that?_' he thought angrily to himself. He chuckled lightly. '_Probably Xemnas'_. Stupid.

This darkness was really starting to get to him. Whatever he was, he didn't like being here. He sat down on the cold floor. He felt like he'd been here for about ten years now, it was really starting to drive him crazy. He tapped his boots on the floor to pass the time. This was horrible, he had to find a way out of here.

Jumping to his feet he ran through the darkness, his footsteps sounding loudly around him. An image of the red-haired beauty he had kidnapped came into his mind. He cursed loudly, throwing his hands to his head. Why did he have to go and die? He could be there with her right now. He could be holding her in his arms, stroking that hair that nearly matched his own. He'd only known her for a little while, and he already knew that he wanted to see her again.

He found himself amazed at the new range of emotions he could experience with a heart. He felt angry at himself, despair, sadness, loneliness, jealousy toward the attention she gave to Sora. And what was that? Was that love? He felt warm inside and found it a little unsettling. He sighed. Like she would ever have wanted to be with him anyway. She had the keyblade master, what did she need him for? _'Aw, come one, don't think like that!_' He shook his head wildly._ 'I've got to find a way out of here!'_

He jogged through the darkness, hoping against hope that maybe somebody left a door open or something. Anything that he could use to escape. Fatigue began to set in and he stopped. Falling back limply he landed on his back against the cold hard floor. He stared up at the lovely darkness above him for what felt like hours.

"This sucks." He groaned up at it.

He closed his eyes in contemplation. Maybe if he just waited here something would appear and magically save him. Whatever. He fell asleep waiting for his miracle.

**xxxxxxx**

It must have been hours later. Maybe even days. Something jolted Axel awake and he stared around him in surprise.

His hands felt warm. What? He sat up and scrambled to his feet. What the hell was going on? He felt like he was being hugged. It was… nice.

He looked around the darkness hopefully.

"Kairi?" he called out. "Kairi!" he yelled louder when he got no response.

He suddenly felt like crying, what the hell was wrong with this place? He ran forward, searching for any sign of the girl. She was trying to reach him. She was actually trying to reach him! He was excited, but scared at the same time. He tried to reach her back, but wasn't sure that it was working.

"Kairi, please! I miss you so much…" he fell back again when her touch faded, letting himself hit the cold floor harshly. It hurt, but it hurt a lot worse that she had left him again.

He didn't understand it, he barely knew her and here he was, falling head over heals in love with her. She wasn't even here with him! He sighed happily. '_Maybe if I wait she'll come back…_' At least he prayed she would.

Axel waited for hours, shivering against the freezing stone floor and staring up at the dark abyss above him. He was so cold, he knew his lips must have been blue. It had been so long he was beginning to give up. He was going to be stuck in here forever. He felt so tired and weak. The darkness was sapping his energy. He held a gloved hand to his face, but he was so numb he couldn't feel it.

"Kairi…I think I might be dying. Again." He murmured to the chill air around him.

"It would be really great if you could get me out of here, no pressure or anything." he let his arm fall back out beside him.

"I mean, I know we barely know each other and all, but…" His eyes drifted closed from the boredom.

"You know… I wouldn't mind, maybe, getting to know you better." He tapped his foot sadly against the stone, listening to the darkness around him for any nearby heartless. He listened for several minutes, but heard nothing but his own words echoed back to him.

"I don't really blame you, if you don't want to. But I guess it would be nice, like, even if you humored me or something." He sighed heavily.

"I'm so losing my mind, this place is really horrible. I hope you never get stuck in here. What am I saying?" He put his hand over his eyes again and laughed.

He let the silence ring around him. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that he heard footsteps. What a crazy idea. He opened his eyes and cried out in surprise.

"Oh my god! What the fuck are you doing here!" He walked in a nervous circle, staring at the slightly glowing girl.

Nothing had ever looked so out of place in his life. She just stood there, smiling happily at him, blonde hair flowing in a nonexistent wind. As soon as the shock had settled he leapt on her and hugged her happily.

"Namine, I never thought I would be so happy to see you!" She smiled knowingly and took his hand.

"Hurry." She whispered, moving through the darkness as he followed her lead. She pointed straight ahead and he saw a shimmer of light.

He felt it now, Kairi was right there. She was crying or something, trying to reach him again. It was very faint this time, how Namine had managed to get in and find him he may never know. But for her to have risked coming here to find him, Kairi must have really wanted to see him! He saw the faint outline of a door before him and he huffed tiredly as he leaned against it. Namine smiled at him warmly and placed her hands against the door.

**xxxxxxx**

Kairi rested her head against the door lightly. Tears ran down her cheeks, but she didn't care. She wasn't in the mood to cry. Something within the door shifted dramatically and she scrambled back in fear. A bright light pierced through the dark cave and she put her hands up and squinted into it. She watched in amazement as the door swung open and Axel fell out onto the cave floor. All at once the light faded, leaving the two enveloped in soft darkness again.

Kairi's eyes were wide, she really wasn't sure what to think. She had wanted to see him so badly, and now that he was here she didn't know what to do. Pressing herself up against the wall, she put her hands over her mouth. He climbed shakily to his feet and braced himself against the door. He put a gloved hand up to his flame red hair and groaned. He still hadn't noticed she was there.

"Oh my god…" Kairi whimpered. His eyes shot up and met hers, both of them utterly surprised.

They stood there like that for a long time, just staring at each other, neither really knowing what to do. Axel held his breath as she slowly moved forward. She held out a shaky hand and he eagerly pressed his own palm against hers. She relaxed at his touch and their fingers entwined. He pulled her closer and she wrapped her other arm around him, hugging him tightly. He couldn't remember ever feeling so happy before. He was finally here, holding her. They were together and that was all that mattered in the world.

"I can't believe you're here. I thought you were dead." She whimpered into his chest. He felt himself blush, '_Me too…_' He thought sadly to himself.

"Thank you." He replied, burying his face in her soft hair.

**End of Part One**


	2. This is Love

**Disclaimer**: I don't own it, now on to the fun stuff.

**A/n: **I don't remember much about writing this story, I was having a rough day and well… Anyway, I really liked it, so here's another chapter! Sorry it's so late, though, I've been a lot busier than usual this week. Axel and Reno are so much alike, I think they even have the same voice actors. I just couldn't help but see Reno the whole time I was writing this. I'll have to write something about him next. Axel seems a little bit out of character, sorry about that. And yea, this update is a few hours sooner than I had indicated in my profile, but I'm sure nobody actually noticed that. I'd just proud I hit my designated update time! I always hate it when you don't know when to expect a new chapter, so I wrote down in my profile what I'm working on and when to expect it.

Little bit of a spoiler if you don't know who Namine is.

**To the reviewers: **

_Blast Off_, that's pretty much what I thought when I read over it.

_Kill-All-Flamers_, yea, the characters seem a little weird, I'll see what I can do about it this chapter. Typical pairings are no fun, you can find them anywhere! Sorry it was confusing, it was kind of supposed to be.

_DemonSurfer_, I have been wondering that since I played the game. Very confusing stuff. If you write an Axel/Kairi fic I'll read it. I don't even know how I thought this one up.

Thanks for reviewing!

**One more thing! **If you want this story to continue, review and let me know, because I was thinking of just ending it here. 

**Chapter Two**

Kairi was finally happy, this was the best night of her life. It had been years since she's done something spontaneous like this. Axel was so much fun to be around, and he was a great conversationalist. His voice was beautiful and she was perfectly happy just laying there listening to him talk.

"So the idiot goes ahead and opens the crate anyway, even though Xaldin and I both told him not to!" Axel said, looking over at Kairi. She smiled and laughed.

"Why would he do that?" She asked, giving him a questioning look. He shrugged.

"I guess he didn't believe there was really a giant heartless in there."

Kairi laughed again. "Sounds like Sora!" She turned her head to look back up at the stars.

Axel sighed heavily. "Yea, they probably could have been friends had the situation been different. I bet a lot of us could have been…"

They were lying on the beach, side by side. The sand had long since cooled, and the normal sounds of the island had faded, leaving only the waves to keep them company. It seemed like there were a lot of stars in the sky tonight, but maybe Kairi just hadn't bothered to notice before. Axel watched her for several minutes, trying to decide what to say. The moonlight reflected off her perfect skin, accentuating her pale complexion and outlining her face.

"This place is beautiful. I'm really glad you won." He said quietly, still watching her. She looked over at him. "I'm sorry I couldn't help." She looked sad.

"You did help."

He wanted to look away, but he couldn't. He continued staring straight into her eyes. She made him feel so strange. He supposed he wasn't used to being around someone who cared about him. That right there was part of the reason he had gotten so attached to Roxas. She smiled and he thought his heart was about to explode. She sat up and looked out at the ocean. The main island could be seen on the horizon, a dark blotch against the deep blue sky.

"Want to go for a walk?" She asked. He jumped to his feet.

"Sure! Show me around." He offered her his hand and helped her to her feet. She thanked him and gestured down the beach.

They walked along quietly, just happy to be together. She couldn't believe she was here with him. She barely knew him and yet here they were, flirting in the middle of the night. They had walked around through the door to the back of the island. Kairi jumped down onto the sand and Axel entertained himself by jumping across the gaps in the walkway up above. She continued to walk along below him, looking up to watch. He glanced down at her every few moments.

"So are you still a nobody?" She asked loudly. He stopped and thought about it.

"I don't really know what I am now, but I'm not a nobody." He tapped a finger against his chin in contemplation.

"How do you know you're not a nobody? You look the same to me." She felt dumb for asking, it sounded really rude to her.

"I have a heart now! Something must have happened to Kingdom Hearts." He said, wondering out loud. Kairi nodded knowingly, she had been there when it happened, after all.

She stood there watching him for several minutes. He held his arms out as he walked along the platforms, his coat flowing out behind him impressively. He looked down again and noticed her watching him. He felt embarrassed, running a hand through his spiky hair and coughing modestly.

"So, uh, how long have you lived here?" He asked nervously, leaping from the last platform and landing gracefully on the raised ground where it ended. Kairi moved forward and began walking up the wooden steps to meet him, her shoes clanking gently.

"A few years, since I was eight at least. I don't remember all that well." She said. "Where are you from?"

Axel shrugged. "No idea, I don't remember anything from before I was turned into a nobody. I guess I'll never know." It was kind of sad, but he was sure that whatever his past may have held, he would trade it right now just to be here with her. She looked at him sadly and he offered her his hand.

Kairi stopped and stared down at his hand. She felt kind of silly, but it seemed like he was offering her something more. She thought about it for a moment. She didn't really have any idea who he was, that bothered her. But as far as she could tell he was a really great guy. He had never done anything to hurt her, not even when he kidnapped her to try and get Sora to come to him. She looked up into his eyes and he gazed back at her. There was a sense of honesty in his eyes and she really liked that. She took a slight breath and gently took his hand, she might as well give him a chance, something in her just kept screaming that he was right. He grinned when she accepted his offer, and true to her intuition, he pulled her closer. Her heart began to pound when he wound his arms around her.

"You have got to be the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." He said quietly, gazing down into her eyes happily.

"Well you get right to the point." Kairi murmured, the corner of her mouth lifting. His expression turned serious.

"I'm afraid to take my time, I'm sorry if I seem too forward. I'm sure you'd understand better if you had died once, too." his voice was quiet and the way he said it made her heart want to break.

She nodded slightly in understanding, but couldn't hide the blush that spread across her face at what he was implying. His heart fell at the look she gave him, and he felt guilty.

"I'm sorry, I just… I'm sorry." He released his hold on her and stepped back, head lowering.

Kairi watched him for a moment, he looked so sad and hopeful, all at the same time. She couldn't stand it. Rushing forward, she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face against the material of his coat. He hugged her back eagerly. Looking up at him, she noticed the dark contrast between his pale skin and the marks under his eyes. The moonlight illuminated his features and she felt strangely comfortable in his arms, staring up at him.

"Ever since I got back, you were all I could think about. I've never wanted anything so much but to be here with you. I want to know who you are, I want to know everything about you. I need to know what it is about you that I like so much, and why I find it so easy to show you who I am. I feel like I've known you for years now, and I want to know why." She stared up into his eyes boldly and he couldn't help but smile.

Axel took her hand in his and began walking down the beach again, heading back the way they had come. He sighed up at the stars as they walked along together, and Kairi's heart pounded harshly in her ears. She was in love with this man, and she had no idea why. She felt like they had been together like this before, walking along and talking. He was talking again, telling her another story of before when he was in the Organization. She watched his lips move and his voice echoed in her mind distantly. She wanted to kiss those lips, she wanted to rip that cloak off of him and shove him in the sand. She wanted to straddle his hips and feel him rocking beneath her, hearing their voices mingle in the cold night air.

"-scared the crap out him! I thought he was going to kill me and Roxas." He laughed casually, oblivious to the images in her head. She nodded and giggled, hoping that was the reaction that he would be looking for.

It seemed to work, but he stopped and looked at her knowingly.

"You know, I guess in a way we did meet before." he said quietly, gazing deep into her eyes as if he was looking for something. Kairi just looked back at him questioningly.

"I used to have to watch after Namine, back before Roxas betrayed the Organization. I guess you could say we were…Pretty close." He sounded almost embarrassed and she could help but feel the same way. She knew who Namine was, she could feel the other girl in her head, practically swooning over Axel.

"Is that why I feel like we've met before? Because she spent so much time with you?" She asked with interest. He nodded uncomfortably.

"Yea, I guess it would be." His memories of the cute little blonde came flooding back. He saw her standing there in Castle Oblivion, giggling at him after he had fallen down some stairs trying to catch her and take her back to her room. Folding those perfect hands in front of her beautiful smile, leaning back ever so slightly, he couldn't be mad at her. It wasn't possible.

He looked back at Kairi, the same face, darker hair, and somewhat darker eyes, but they were identical none the less. She had those same perfect hands, the same smile, the same movements.

Kairi could tell there were some underlying feeling there, and decided to drop it and move along. She lead him forward through the door again and out onto the front of the island. She supposed in a way it was a good sign that he loved Namine, didn't that mean he had fallen in love with her heart before he had ever really met her? She knew that he felt familiar, Namine must have spent a lot of time with him.

She took him to her favorite spot, Paopu Island. From here the slight glow of the sun edging up on the horizon was visible, dimly lighting the sky behind them. She released his hand and ran forward, leaping up to sit on the bent over paopu tree. Axel sauntered around the side of the tree and leaned casually next to her. They sat there in silence for a long time, watching the stars begin to vanish in the approaching morning light.

"I wish I could live here, this place is great." Axel finally said, glancing at Kairi as she turned to watch him from her perch on the tree.

"Why don't you?" She asked.

He thought about it for a moment. "I don't know, I guess I just don't really feel welcome here after what I did. I don't think Sora would like me here." Kairi scoffed.

"That's ridiculous! Sora has never said a bad word about you. He looked like he wanted to cry when he told us how you died. Besides, I want you to be here, so Sora and Riku should respect that." She replied. His eyes shot up to hers and he grinned.

"You mean you want me to stay and if they complain you'll kick some ass?" he laughed, turning so he leaned on his elbows on the tree trunk. Her cheeks turned pink and she began mumbling something incoherent.

Axel reached up gingerly and grasped her chin in his hand, slowly leading her face down to him. Her eyes slid closed almost hopefully and he placed a soft kiss to her lips. It felt like something in her chest exploded and when he pulled back she nearly tumbled off the tree after him. He smiled softly at her reaction and drew back to watch her.

Kairi sat there awkwardly, completely unsure of what she should do. Her mother would shoot her if she could see her now, out in all hours of the morning with a man that she desperately wanted to drag back to her room and ravage. But she was sure that was just her inexperienced teenaged hormones kicking in. She needed to think this out. A breeze fluttered by her bare arms and she shivered. Axel looked at her with concern and took her hand, pulling her off the tree.

He slipped his heavy coat off to reveal a black tank top underneath, barely hiding his slim muscles. He took a seat in the sand and pulled Kairi down next to him, leaning against the tree trunk. She complied and curled up beside him, resting her head on his chest and draping an arm over his stomach bravely. She could practically hear Namine singing in her head as Axel draped the coat over the two of them and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She felt like singing herself, feeling the warmth from his body radiating into her skin. The soft pounding of the ocean's waves lulled her to sleep in his arms.

**xxxxxxx**

Riku could not believe what he was seeing.

Axel was leaning against the trunk of their favorite paopu tree, with Kairi sprawled across his lap. They were both sound asleep, and looked like they had been like this for quite a while. He had to admit, he'd never really met Axel before, so he wasn't sure if he should be any more worried than he already was for the auburn haired girl in his lap.

A splash in the water behind him made him turn sharply and he watched blankly as Sora's spiky hair appeared over the edge of the island. He was dripping wet and nearly fell backwards again as he struggled up the slippery ladder. Riku indicated for him to be quiet and the brunette's questioning eyes slowly fell on the two curled up at the base of the tree. Riku knew exactly what was coming as the boy's face lit up and his eyes widened in amazement. He tried desperately to jump on the boy and quiet him before-

"AXEL!" He shrieked, leaping forward away from Riku and jumping on the now startled red head.

Axel looked up in shock as Kairi threw herself off of him in embarrassment and Sora leapt on him happily. He squeezed the man's shoulders tightly and showered him with ocean water in his excitement.

"I thought you were dead, it's so great to see you again!" He cried happily, finally releasing him so he could breathe and stepping back to look at Kairi. She blushed darkly.

"Hey Kai, I didn't know you were dating this guy." Riku said plainly, giving her a teasing smile as her face got even darker.

"I-" She stuttered, she didn't know what to say. She looked from Riku to Sora and then to Axel, who stood and brushed the sand from his pants before giving her a questioning look. He almost looked sad, like she was rejecting him. Kairi couldn't bear the thought of offending him, they had just gotten to know each other!

"I.. yeah." She said meekly. Axel smiled and looked at the two boy almost smugly. Sora's eyes got even bigger and his gaze shifted between them.

"Oh, that's great!" His voice cracked a little but he forced a smile for them anyway. Kairi's heart panged and she immediately felt bad for him.

"You moving in here then?" Riku asked, trying to be oblivious to the fact that she may have just broken Sora's heart. Axel scratched his head, glancing around the island.

"Um, yea, I guess so. I don't really have anywhere else to go." he said awkwardly. Sora's eyes brightened at that and Riku smirked.

"Cool, that means you're one of us now." Riku said casually. "We should get you some new clothes, though, you still look like you're part of the Organization." he laughed. Axel looked down at himself and wrinkled his nose.

"New start new look I guess. It's too hot here for black anyway." He smiled happily at Kairi and she couldn't help but smile back. He stepped forward and took her hand as the two boys walked away down the wooden bridge. He picked up his Organization coat and shook the sand out of it before following them with Kairi at his side.

**End of Chapter Two** _If you want the story to go further review and let me know, otherwise it's going to be a while before I touch this story again. Thank you for reading!_


	3. Not a Very Long Break

**Disclaimer**: Do you ever wonder why people post one of these at the start of every chapter when only one in the story is necessary?

**A/n: **Well, I was reading over that last chapter and decided that it was a seriously shitty place to stop. And I missed it. Axel is all kinds of fun. I'm sorry about his outfit, it's all I can see when I try to think of him in anything other than his coat… It's so Reno it's painful…

Thanks for reviewing, everybody! I actually can't believe I haven't gotten a flame yet, most of the Axel+Kairi stories out there involve people getting violated and bashed to death. Anyway, thanks for the support, I really appreciate it! And umm, if you have any ideas for this story I'd like to know, right now I've got nuthin'.

If you're interested, this story now has a prequel. It's a one-shot Axel+Namine, I.D. number is s/3193686/1/

**Chapter Three**

"So Kairi, I met the nicest boy working at the bookstore in town, you should meet him! I think you two would really hit it off!"

Kairi sighed heavily and dropped her fork on her plate. It clanged loudly around the room as she looked up at her overly cheerful mother in aggravation. Her father, as usual, avoided joining in on the conversation, preferring instead to stare down at his plate, which he was sure would never throw anything at him. Her mother, on the other hand, gazed at her exasperated daughter happily.

"He was so polite, not like those boys you insist on hanging around." She smiled across the table as Kairi fought to control the rising anger. Taking a deep breath and plastering on a happy face, she picked up her fork again.

"Oh, mom. They're not that bad. You know you love them." She shut herself up by shoveling more food into her mouth, forcing her eyes to stay on the plate in front of her. They went through this practically every night she was home, and she really had no idea what her mother had against her friends. Well, specifically _one_ friend…

"Oh, sure, Riku and Sora and fine. Usually. But that redheaded boy is just so…dear, what's the word I'm looking for?" The older woman batted her eyelashes at her husband, the look in her eyes demanding support. He cleared his throat.

"Uh, unique?" He smiled grimly at the two women and immediately went back to watching his plate. Kairi's gaze softened when she looked at her father, the poor man really had it rough living with the two of them.

"No, well, yes, actually, but I was really thinking more-" Her mother started, raising an eyebrow and watching the man pick at his food.

"Do we really have to talk about this right now?" Kairi cut her off as she saw something move outside the dining room window. Her mother looked over at her suspiciously. "I'm just really tired, I don't want to argue tonight." She said quietly, standing up and grabbing her plate.

"Alright honey, but if you have time tomorrow you really should stop by the bookstore." She glared back at the woman as she walked into the kitchen.

She tossed her plate in the sink and ran water over it before dashing down the hall to her bedroom. Turning on a bedside lamp and shutting her door, she leaned against it and cursed. Her mother was so infuriating, sometimes she just wanted to strangle her and put an end to it all. For some unknown reason Kairi had never been able to figure out, her mother had this image of her with a good little boy in a suit in her head.

She plopped down on her bed, huffing in frustration. A cool breeze blew in through her window, caressing the back of her neck as she leaned forward to rest her head in her hands. She thought she heard rustling behind her, but before she had time to turn and look two strong arms wound around her thin frame. Warm breath rolled down her neck and she sighed.

"How do you do that anyway?" She whispered. A soft laugh boomed in her ear and she smiled.

"Years of practice." His hair rustled gently against her cheek as he hugged her. Footsteps sounded down the hall and they both jumped. A loud knock sounded on the door and it immediately swung inward, revealing the looming form of her mother framed in the light form the hall.

"Kairi, I forgot to ask you to grab your laundry before you disappeared, here you go." She set a basket down just inside her doorway and smiled at her daughter. She leaned back and rested a hand on her hip.

"Aren't you cold? It's starting to get a little chilly outside." She gave the younger girl a quizzical look as she smiled back up at her.

"No, it feels good. It's always too hot during the day, the change is nice." She stood and moved over to get the basket.

"Thanks for my finishing my laundry, goodnight mom." She watched anxiously as her mom gave her a weak goodnight and walked back out the door. She sighed in relief as turned back around to the window. Colliding with a certain man's chest, she stumbled back and nearly shouted in surprise.

"Seriously. How do you do that?" She breathed, staring up at him. He had long since traded his heavy coat for a white button up shirt and loose blue jeans. His green eyes gazed down at her and he couldn't suppress the smug grin.

"It's an Axel thing, got it-"

"Memorized?" She teased, shoving him playfully as he grinned at her. "Why do you say that so much?" She picked up the basket and dumped it on her bed, sorting through the contents.

"It's called a catch phrase. Why don't you have one?" He sat down on the bed in front of her, effectively blocking her from sorting her laundry. She huffed at him and snatched a pair of underwear out of his hand.

"What do you want anyway? It's late and I'm tired." He wrapped his arms around her waist and she fell back onto the bed with him, staring up at the ceiling as he balanced her on his chest.

"I was cold and lonely, Riku was being mean to me again." She snorted at him and struggled away, standing up beside the bed again and slapping him in the face with a t-shirt.

"Whatever, you guys get along great." She finished sorting the clothes and threw the basket in a corner. Axel reached out and took her hand, pulling her back onto the bed. She kicked off her shoes and snuggled up beside him, resting her head on his arm. He pulled her blanket up over them and rolled onto his side, looking over at her. Closing her eyes happily, she felt his other arm wrap around her waist and she melted into the feeling.

Her breathing slowly evened out and he watched her intently as she fell asleep. This was what he had wanted for so long, practically since before he had even met her. And now that she was here in his arms he didn't know what to think. It just all seemed too perfect, there had to be a catch. She sighed softly in her sleep and he kissed the tip of her nose. They were free now, that was all that mattered.

"I love you…" She whispered softly, he almost didn't hear it. He smiled to himself.

"I love you too." _Namine… _He stroked her hair gently, admiring the deep color. Hugging her to his chest, he let his own eyes drift closed.

**xxxxxxx**

A cold breeze rushed across bare skin, making Kairi shiver. She winced and pulled the blanket tighter around her exposed shoulder. Already disturbed from her sleep, she opened her eyes and gazed around the room, bathed in early morning sunlight. She heard loud footsteps rushing down the hall and her eyes widened in horror. Spinning around in panic her eyes fell on the empty bed beside her. She sighed in relief. Of course he was always one step ahead. The bedroom door flew open and her mother glowered at her from the doorway.

"You're going to be late for school! Get up!" She growled before marching back down the hall. Fifteen minutes later the woman watched in amazement as Kairi flew out the front door, a book clutched under her arm and her hair still wet from her shower.

She dashed wildly down the path to school, trying to put on her uniform's tie and not drop her book.

"Running late?" She glanced over at Axel, keeping perfect pace with her as she ran to school. She glared at him.

"You could have woken me up! I happen to have a test today!" She said, huffing from the exertion.

"Sorry, I figured nothing exciting happened on Friday." he grinned at her and dodged a playful slap.

They rounded a corner and dashed out onto the grass of the schoolyard. Riku and Sora stood in the doorway to the small building, waiting patiently for Kairi. She panted tiredly as she came to a stop in front of them, waving a brief good morning before their teacher's voice boomed through the doors for them to hurry up.

"Later Axel." Riku called back, waving at him as Sora and Kairi rushed into the schoolhouse.

He watched the door for a few minutes, finding himself hoping that perhaps they had waited too long and had gotten kicked out of class for being late. No such luck, he sighed to himself. The start of another boring day alone, at least by next year Riku would be done with school. Oh well, class on Fridays was shorter anyway.

Axel walked around the side of the building and seated himself in the grass. He had absolutely nothing to do, and at least here he could watch Kairi through the window. Leaning back against a tree, he looked at the sky. A few clouds today, not many. He supposed that could be an exciting change, that meant it might be colder today, and he'd freeze his ass off if he had to sleep outside again. That thought made him curse, he still hadn't found a job yet. There was nothing to do on this island. There were a few stores, but they had all said they didn't need anymore help. He gazed back down through the window, Kairi was chewing the eraser off of her pencil. She had a paper in front of her, must have been that test.

Thinking of the Destiny Islands schoolhouse made him wonder, had he ever gone to school? He supposed he must have, he knew everything she was studying, but it made him sad to think he couldn't remember learning it. There was a lot he had lost when he joined the Organization. Kairi filled in a few answers on the paper and went back to chewing on the pencil. Of course, the Organization had given him a lot as well…

**xxxxxxx**

A foot collided slowly with his ribs, pushing him over and jolting him awake in surprise.

"What the hell!" he jumped and stared up at Riku. He had a backpack over a shoulder and had gotten rid of his uniform shirt, replacing it with a black tank top. He motioned down the path behind them with his head, and his long silver hair fell in front of his eyes.

"Come on, I'm done for today. Let's get out of here." he said, helping Axel to his feet.

Kairi watched them walk away, happy that they were getting along. It seemed like Riku could get along with pretty much anyone, though. Chewing the pencil nervously, she glanced over at Sora. She noticed him quickly look back down at his desk and her heart thumped sadly. She had hoped he wouldn't take it like this, but what could she really expect after all those years of flirting with him? The eraser finally came off in her mouth and she spit it out onto the desk in front of her, poking at it with the tip of the pencil until it had completely crumbled.

She stared down at the test underneath the murdered eraser. All the answers had been filled in, but she didn't want to turn it in yet. She had another test to do after it and she wanted a break first. Glancing back at Sora, she caught him watching her this time and he shifted guiltily in his seat. Shaking it off, he offered her a goofy grin and took out a piece of paper. She watched him scribble on it in interest. Folding it quickly so their teacher wouldn't notice, he passed it to Selphie, instructing her to pass it on. She handed it to Kairi and winked at her, motioning out the window.

"That was your boyfriend, huh?" She whispered as quietly as she could, leaning over towards Kairi. She nodded as she opened the note from Sora.

"He's hot!" Selphie giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. Kairi blushed, sticking her tongue out at the younger girl.

"You can't have him!" She growled playfully, wrinkling her nose.

She looked down at the note from Sora, trying to figure out exactly what it said. It looked like it said something about best friends forever, then it kind of moved off into a sketchy little picture of what looked like a dinosaur with their teacher's head on it, breathing fire over an image of her, Riku, and Sora. There were textbook demons crawling up over the edge of the paper and attacking them, and a lovely sign over the top of the page that read "Destiny Islands Hellhouse". Kairi let out a laugh, then immediately covered her mouth in horror as the teacher glared at her. Sora grinned as he watched her, then Selphie grabbed the note off her desk to look at it. She held it up towards Sora in mock anger.

"Where am I?" She mouthed to him, pointing at it and giving him a questioning look.

He took the note back and scribbled on it some more. He handed it back and she looked at it in horror. Kairi took it and looked down at the image of Selphie riding a broomstick over the three of them, using her jump rope as a whip and tossing little hearts down towards the teacher. Kairi laughed quietly this time and nodded in agreement, receiving a glare from her friend.

This time Selphie took the piece of paper and starting sketching on it. Kairi leaned over to look at it, her eyes widening in a mixture of mirth and horror. She had added a picture of Axel standing beside Kairi's crudely drawn stick figure, obviously groping her. She grabbed the note away from her and tossed it in her backpack. Selphie pouted at her, but her head snapped back towards her own desk when the teacher yelled at them to stop playing around.

**xxxxxxx**

"I haven't seen Kairi this happy in a long time. She was acting really sad after we got back, I was starting to worry about her." Riku took another drink of soda before flipping through channels on the TV again. Axel glanced over at him.

"Weird, I can't imagine her being sad." He mumbled, taking another bite of his sandwich. If it wasn't for Riku, he was sure he would have starved by now.

"Yea, it's not common, she's usually really good at seeing everything good in life. I guess it must have been something about you, she changed as soon as you got here. I didn't even know you guys knew each other." Riku replied, finally getting up to put in a movie.

"I guess you could say we've known each other for a long time, but she doesn't really know that. Or at least, she doesn't really remember." Axel said, setting his sandwich down and crossing his legs on the couch. Riku glanced back at him, nodding knowingly. He popped a copy of Silent Hill into the DVD player and moved back towards the kitchen for more soda.

"Well, they should be out of class soon." he said, glancing up at the clock on his way past it.

"Oh yeah, my mom said that if we move all that junk out of the old computer room, you could stay there for a while. We aren't using it anyway, and she's a sucker for homeless bums." He called from the kitchen, slamming the refrigerator door. Axel shivered at the thought of Riku's mom hitting on him.

"Cool, we could do that when they get here. Do you know anywhere in this town I could get a job?" he asked, grabbing his food again as Riku tossed him a new soda.

"Hmm, maybe. An old friend of mine is a fisherman, he might need some help. He always seems really busy anyway." Riku laughed. "But then you might smell like fish all the time!"

Axel grinned. "Thanks."

**End of Chapter Three**

_A/n: I was going to write a lot more, but I have a big weekend coming up and if I don't update now it'll be another week._


	4. Back Again

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Hearts, I'm just using it to entertain myself.

**A/n:** Sorry! I forgot about this for a long time but lately I've really been thinking about it. I wasn't sure what to do with the plot, I guess I think too far ahead or something…

**Chapter Four**

Kairi waited up past midnight, but Axel never showed up.

She really hadn't expected him to, but she couldn't help but hope. Just before he'd walked her home, he told her how Riku's mom was going to let him move into their spare room, and he was going to be working at moving all the junk out of there for a while. Knowing him, she could see him passed out in a pile of old papers and useless crap Riku's mom had never bothered to get rid of. One thing she knew about Axel was that he was fond of sleep, she couldn't imagine that he was still up working.

She watched the dark line of brush and trees around her backyard, leaning her chin on her elbows in the hope that maybe all the excitement had kept him up anyway and now he'd want to see her to relax. Another few minutes and she sighed heavily to herself, sinking back into her bed. A light blush colored her cheeks when she felt like laughing at herself and how obsessive she must seem, leaning out her window to see if he would show up. But she had to admit, she had it bad…

Kairi had been fast asleep when a sudden, gut wrenching jolt of horror shot through her body and left her wide-eyed and gasping.

_Run!_

The word repeated itself over and over in her mind, sending little shivers of fear down her spine. Her fingers wound tightly in the fabric of her blanket and she found herself too shocked to move. Was that Namine? She could feel the girl in her mind, but never so strongly before.

_Now! Run! Get out of there, find Sora! _

Ridiculous, there was no way Namine could actually force her to be so aware. Her grip relaxed slightly when she decided she must be dreaming, but she couldn't shake the heavy feeling of fear weighing down on her.

_Go! Hurry up! They're coming for you, Kairi!_

With a frightened yelp Kairi fell out of bed, scrambling slightly before staring back down at her bed as if expecting to see herself still sleeping there. She ran her shaking fingers through her hair and turned to pull on a pair of shorts and a tank top. Determined to shake the horrified feeling, she slipped on her shoes and climbed out the window, immediately heading for Riku's house.

_Too Slow! Run! They're right behind you! _

She stopped in her tracks with her eyes wide as Namine's voice rang clearly through her mind. She spun around so fast she lost her footing and fell painfully on her rear. She stared around her in terror, her heart pounding violently in her ears and waited for some unseen horror to leap at her. It was perfectly quiet, and her heartbeat finally slowed a little. Obviously, it was just in her head.

She stood up and dusted herself off before turning back towards the path through the trees to Riku's house. She had hardly taken a step when Namine's shriek rang through her head and she collided with something in the middle of the path. Staring up in absolute horror, she recognized the typical uniform of the Organization. The hood was pulled up so it was impossible to see a face, and she felt her knees go weak.

**x:X:x**

Axel and Riku were sitting next to the open window of the spare room when Kairi's scream filtered in through the trees.

They exchanged horrified looks before Axel darted straight out the window, with Riku running to grab his keyblade.

In moments Axel was past the line of trees, shouting frantically for Kairi. He heard her scream again, closer to the beach this time, and shot off after her.

He broke through the trees onto the open sand and could hear Riku shouting after him. Looking ahead, his deepest fears were confirmed as he saw Kairi being dragged through the sand by one arm, clawing frantically at the gloved hand. His eyes traced the obvious form of the Organization's most feared member, and a deep, angry rumble started up in his chest.

"Saix!!" He screamed, pushing himself forward and dashing after them with all his strength.

It was already too late, a dark portal had formed just a few steps in front of him, and Axel watched in horror as Kairi raised her hand up to reach out to him pleadingly.

"Axel!" She cried out, twisting her arm painfully in an attempt to break free. It was no use, and she screamed his name again as the portal began to close.

Moments later, Axel hit the sand where the portal had just disappeared. He punched it angrily, shouting curses into the approaching waves as Riku came to a stop right behind him. he fell back into the sand hopelessly and rested his head in his hands.

"Come back here Saix! I'll fucking kill you!" Axel shouted to the night sky before finally letting himself fall on his back in the sand.

"Shit…" Riku breathed.

He leaned back, finally glancing up when Axel's hysterical laughter broke through the sound of the ocean.

**x:X:x**

"Let me go! Do you have any idea what Sora is going to do to you when he finds me?!"

Demyx looked up in sudden interest as the door was thrown open and Saix walked in dragging Kairi by her left arm. He was expressionless as he threw her roughly against the opposite wall, and she landed on the floor with a pained gasp.

"Watch her. If she escapes, you will die first." Saix glared down at the young musician, eyes hard and cold.

Demyx nodded in understanding, watching the man stalk dangerously out of the room before rushing over to pick up the girl.

"Kairi? Are you alright?" He asked carefully, hauling her up to a sitting position before leaning over her. She held a hand to her head and glared up at him.

"What do you want?!" She shrieked angrily, shoving his hands away and making him jump back a step as she swung a kick at his shins. He gazed at her sadly for a moment before sinking back down to the floor and shrugging.

"I don't know what they want with you, but I imagine it's something to do with Sora. I can't believe this is happening, I thought it was over!" He groaned quietly. Kairi stared at him in surprise.

"What do you mean 'they'? Aren't you in the organization too?" She asked accusingly.

He waved his hands as if shaking off the blame. "No! Not anymore anyway…" He sighed heavily and Kairi felt the presence in her mind willing her to relax. He glanced up at her with sea-green eyes full of concern.

"They found me in Traverse Town. Didn't say anything, just knocked me out and brought me here. All I know is they're trying to rebuilt the Organization. They're having some trouble, though, most of the members haven't been found yet, and a lot who were found didn't want any part of their new plan…" His voice seemed heavy, and Kairi's head swam with confusion.

"What?" She asked softly. Demyx almost looked offended.

"Of course not! _I _got my heart back, what else could I possibly want?" He said it as if it should have been obvious to her.

Kairi just looked at him in confusion, it was too much information at once. He rubbed his temples and sighed again.

"Okay, so I think Marluxia is in charge right now, but I'm not sure at all. The thing is, for some reason he didn't get his heart back like some of the rest of us did. Neither did Larxene or Saix. I'm sure you can imagine how pissed they were to find out some of us reappeared with our hearts… Anyway, as far as I can tell it's pretty much a war for revenge against Sora. Something about his goodness contaminating Kingdom Hearts, I don't know, Vexen's an idiot…" He leaned his head back and groaned, while Kairi stared off into space contemplating what he'd said.

"Okay, so…" She held up her hands as if to demonstrate her point, and he looked at her curiously. "So the good guys got their hearts back..? Like Axel?" She said slowly. Demyx's eyes lit up and he leaned forward.

"You know where Axel is?!" He asked hopefully, eyes shining. Kairi was taken by surprise by his enthusiasm, and stared at him with her mouth open for a moment.

"Yea, he's on Destiny Islands… With Sora…" She said quietly. Demyx looked confused for a second, but he leaned back and started thinking again.

"So I suppose it's pretty obvious they kidnapped you to get to Sora. I just have no idea what they plan to do with you…" He said sadly. "I'm sorry you got caught up in this, they're really sinking to new lows these days…"

Kairi nodded in understanding, hugging her knees to her chest miserably.

**x:X:x**

Sora stared at the wall, either not responding to his friends or simply not hearing them at all. After the first few hours trying to get him in on the conversation, everyone gave up and talked quietly amongst themselves.

"Okay, it's been three days now and we still haven't heard anything. If they're using her as leverage they're not doing it very well…" Yuffie muttered in irritation. She couldn't hide her concern for the younger girl, but Leon shook his head.

"No, it's too early to tell. Maybe they're just holding on to her to make sure Sora doesn't try anything against them." He said quietly. Riku nodded in agreement, then cursed lightly.

"We should try to find them, reason with them at least. Maybe they'll let Axel in so he can at least make sure she's safe. He's… never mind…" Riku's voice fell toward the end of the sentence and Axel's eyes flashed angrily at him.

"What? Harmless? Yea I suppose I am now." He bit back. "No weapon, hardly any power, I can't even create portals anymore. What the hell would I do in there?" He growled. Everyone was used to his bitter attitude now, and turned away as soon as he was finished speaking.

"Well we need to think of something…" Aerith murmured with concern. "Maybe Sora should stay here while you look for them, Riku. That way they won't be provoked quite so quickly."

"Yea! They're so full of themselves they'll just write you off as harmless, Riku!" Yuffie giggled. Everyone looked at her with cold stares, and her giggle was cut short abruptly.

"She might be sort of right… They're pretty focused on Sora, just because I have a keyblade it won't necessarily mean I'm a threat to them." Riku said quietly.

Aerith nodded slowly, but bit her lip in worry. "Where will you go?" She asked gently.

Riku looked over at Axel, and he glanced around the group in surprise. "Well?"

"Uh… Castle Oblivion is a good bet. Maybe the World That Never Was. Though it would be really stupid for them to go back there again. They would want something familiar, but that's no guarantee they'll stick with something familiar at all." Axel said somewhat nervously.

"How soon will you two leave?" Leon asked, as if ignoring Sora hiding miserably in the corner. Riku's eyes glanced over to him momentarily, before he shoved the grief from his voice.

"Right now." He said quietly. "Come on, Axel."

He patted his best friend's shoulder reassuringly as he passed him. Sora didn't look up.

_**End of Chapter Four**_

_Note: I'm sorry it's so short! There should be more soon! _


	5. Troubling News

**Disclaimer: **I don't own KHII, as you may have guessed.

**Note: **Well, since Kairi and Namine are basically the same person, I find them pretty interchangeable. Namine is like the embodiment of Kairi's soul, so I guess in a way Axel is just crazy about who Kairi really is on the inside… Yea my stories have been getting weird and confusing lately, I've been reading too much… Anyway, I'm really happy people are still reading this! I didn't want to give up on it.

**Chapter Five**

Despite being awake nearly all night and unable to sleep since leaving Destiny Islands, Kairi stared at the wall ahead with wide eyes. She had no real idea what time it was, since there were no windows in her prison, but she guessed it was getting toward evening again. Demyx sat silently against the opposite wall, he hadn't spoken for a long time and if Kairi had been in a better situation, she would have worried about the ex-Nobody.

His eyes were distant, detached from reality in an almost startling way. She swept her gaze over his hunched form and tried to guess his age. He couldn't be much older than Riku, now that she really got a good look at him. To her, he just looked like a scared kid caught up in a war that was quickly spiraling out of control for either side.

She finally found her voice, and had just parted her lips to try and comfort him when heavy footsteps sounded outside the door. Both of them looked up in fearful curiosity as the door was thrown open violently.

Kairi's eyes opened wider in shock, and Demyx hissed slightly.

"Xaldin, what the hell now?"

Kairi stared over at Demyx in shock, he had instantly transformed from a scared teenager to a vicious young man that seethed loathing for the dark figure in the doorway.

A cruel grin crossed Xaldin's face as he gazed down at Demyx, then over to Kairi. A deep laugh resonated in his chest and Kairi felt herself draw up against the wall in fear.

"We've decided to put you two to good use." He said simply, and stalked through the doorway reaching for Kairi.

She pressed herself up against the wall, scrambling to her feet and ready to make a run for it if she could slip past him. Immediately, Demyx was in front of her in a battle stance, though he had no weapon. His hands balled into fists and Xaldin laughed again.

"Oh Demyx, you've never won a fight in your life."

Faster than Kairi's eyes could trace, Xaldin's hand was around his throat and he lifted the boy up into the air. Demyx held very still for a moment, and just as a sneer appeared on Xaldin's face his feet lashed out and caught the much larger man in the chest.

He loud out a surprised cough and dropped Demyx, who landed gracefully on his feet and immediately jumped on him, catching him in a tight headlock.

"Run, Kairi! Get out of here!" He yelled, and she stared in horror for a moment before darting out the door.

She heard a loud crash behind her and heard Demyx cry out in pain, but didn't stop as her loud heartbeat began to drown out the sounds. Running footsteps pounded behind her, and she had just turned to glance back when something hit her in the shoulder and a pained shriek burst through her lips.

The force of the blow took her off her feet, and she hit the floor hard. Rolling onto her side, she struggled to sit up, clutching a hand to her shoulder. Her hands were shaking and she realized all at once that blood was running down her arm. Pain seared through her then and she stared up in horror as another black-cloaked figure appeared over her.

A smug laugh cut through her senses, and as she stared at the figure they reached up and lowered their hood, and Larxene sneered down at her.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" She asked sharply, not actually waiting for an answer as she grabbed the arm her dagger was stuck into and hauled Kairi to her feet. She screamed in pain again and suddenly Xaldin was standing just down the hall with Demyx's unconscious body over one shoulder.

"Hmph, better get started before these two come up with any more ideas." Xaldin said with a grin.

Larxene smiled sweetly at him and began walking briskly down the hall, ignoring Kairi's cries of pain as she jerked harshly on her injured arm.

**x:X:x**

"So what do you think they're planning?"

Axel looked up from the map to meet Riku's heavy, aquamarine gaze. They stared at each other for a moment before the redhead shrugged guiltily.

"I have no idea. They're probably waiting for Sora to come after them, so they can threaten to kill her. But I don't know. I don't know what they came back for, they must be up to something they can't have Sora interfering with." He said quietly.

He half expected Riku to try and blame him for something, seeing as how he used to be a member of the Organization. But the younger boy was silent, and stared back out the window.

"What are we going to do when we find her?" Axel couldn't help but ask. He knew Riku had been thinking it over since they left Hollow Bastion, he couldn't remember ever seeing the boy in such deep thought before.

"I don't know, try to reason with them I guess. Maybe they'll make a trade, take me for her or something." He said quietly. Axel nodded, he'd been thinking of it to.

Maybe if he just convince them to let him join the Organization again, he could get close to her. He'd have to be convincing of course, pick a fight with Sora and Riku to show he wasn't trying to trick them. He hated the idea, but he would do whatever was in his power to save Kairi from them.

Just as soon as they could figure out where they were…

**x:X:x**

Sunlight exploded in Kairi's vision, and she immediately held up her free hand to block the light. The sun was beginning to set, but she couldn't make out exactly where they were. Larxene's earsplitting laughter erupted behind her again, and she glared back at the woman in hatred.

"Where are we?" Kairi demanded in a steady voice. The older woman grinned down at her.

"Somewhere I'm sure you remember." She spat.

Kairi glared at her in confusion before crying out in surprise as she was thrown into the dirt. She glanced around, not sure what to expect, as several more cloaked figures appeared in her line of vision. Looking around, she could see the ruins of what must have been an old fortress, long since broken down into a ghostly image of what it once was.

Soft footsteps approached, and Kairi's eyes were drawn over to a tall, dark form now looming over her. She felt in in explication rush of terror as her eyes slid up the figure to their face, and her mouth fell open in shock.

"Maleficent." Larxene said the name for her as Kairi's eyes widened in fear. "I believe you two have met?"

The woman let out an evil laugh, tinged with amusement and distaste. "Ah, yes, I remember her now. Shall we get started? This is generally the point at with Sora decides to interrupt me." She said coldly. Larxene nodded and hauled Kairi to her feet again.

"But… I thought you were enemies…" She shook her head in confusion and Larxene spun her around and gripped her shoulders, her face entirely too close for comfort.

"Well, when you hate the keyblade master this much, you tend to make allies. A common goal, hm?" She grinned viciously and started to haul the girl forward.

Kairi struggled against her, but her grip was like steel. Twisting painfully in her grip, she managed to catch a glimpse of where she was being forced, and her heart nearly stopped in her chest.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" She shrieked, suddenly finding enough strength to fight. She clawed violently against Larxene, but it was useless as she merely dragged the girl forward.

Larxene laughed and flashed Kairi a grin that nearly froze her soul. "Evening the odds a bit, sweetheart."

She turned her around now so she could get a good look at what was about to happen to her, and Kairi heard herself screaming.

An enormous heartless was chained to the ground. Its orange eyes flashing hungrily and sharp, white teeth gleaming in the dying light. Darkness seemed to drip from its very being, and it clawed the ground with one long, thin arm. It shuddered slightly when it smelled her, and pulled sadly at the chains holding it still.

"Oh, this is a special one." Maleficent moved forward and stroked it's massive head affectionately. She turned to Kairi with another amused grin and backed away, nodding to Larxene.

"He'll leave the parts we need intact." She said simply before shoving Kairi forward.

She shrieked and landed painfully at its feet.

**x:X:x**

"Sora!" Yuffie screamed, nearly breaking the door down as she barreled into the room.

Everyone looked up in shock and Aerith jumped in surprise.

"Yuffie! What-"

She pushed past the woman and jumped on Sora, who was still slouched in the corner of the room.

"Sora! There's heartless in the Great Maw!!" She shouted in his face. "They're everywhere!" She was near panic now, and Sora's eyes seemed to light up as he finally returned to reality.

"Heartless?!" His voice broke slightly and he was immediately on his feet. Yuffie darted back out the door as he dashed after her, and in moments Leon was right behind them.

"Yuffie! What's going on?" Leon asked urgently, keeping pace with them as they pushed past confused civilians in their haste to reach the Bailey.

"I don't know! I was out training and looked down, and there were heartless crawling out of the Dark Depths!" She said hurriedly. Leon cursed lightly and looked up at Sora.

"I guess it was a good thing you stayed behind." He said calmly. Sora nodded, but his thoughts were too busy to really register what the other two were saying.

Within minutes, the three of them were perched on a ledge overlooking the Great Maw.

"There's too many to deal with right now, we need help." Leon said softly. Sora nodded, and Yuffie growled in anger.

"What should we do?" She asked sharply, itching for a surprise attack despite being painfully outnumbered.

Leon was about to respond when Sora interrupted him. "She's right, they were coming from the Dark Depths. Before we do anything else we need to go see why." He said quietly. The other two nodded and followed him along the top of the cliff.

Navigating from ledge to ledge was easy for them now, and within moments they found themselves huddled on sharp ledges overlooking the ruins of the old castle. Sora's eyes went wide with shock, and he hastily pointed down to the bottom of the ruins.

"There! It's the Organization!" He growled. Leon gazed down at the lone figure standing down below, recognizable only by the heavy black cloak.

"There's only one, and it looks like they're waiting for us or something." He said quietly. Realization dawned on all of them then, and Sora shook his head.

"They _wanted_ to get our attention. The Organization was right here the whole time!" He groaned, thinking of Riku and Axel off scouring the universe looking for them.

Yuffie cursed softly and Leon put his head in his hands. "But what are they doing? Why now? It doesn't make sense…"

"We should- hey!" Yuffie was cut short when Sora took off down the cliff, leaping gracefully from ledge to ledge as he all but floated to the bottom. The other two immediately followed after him, Leon murmuring something disapproving as Yuffie bit her lip in concern.

The cloaked figure at the bottom didn't move as Sora slowly approached. He was less than twenty feet away when they finally looked up from the ground. They stared at each other for a moment before the keyblade appeared in Sora's hand and he took up a battle stance. Leon and Yuffie came up behind him, uncertain, but drawing their weapons.

All at once, the figure unzipped the front of the cloak and let it slide to the ground.

Sora stared at the figure in complete shock, the keyblade falling from his fingers to land with a thud in the dirt. Leon cursed and Yuffie gasped in horror, all three staring straight ahead.

"Oh god… Kairi…" Sora's eyes reflected the deep pain in his voice, and he fell to his knees.

"That's not Kairi. It has to be a trick." Yuffie said softly. Leon just shook his head.

Bright orange eyes rolled up to stare at them, darkness swirling around her shoulders like black flame. If her face held any human features anymore, they would have been half covered by her now black hair. Her entire figure was in shadow, though still recognizable. Her eyes flashed violently and small heartless began to pull themselves up from the dirt.

_**End of Chapter Five**_


	6. Change of Plans

_Disclaimer: I don't own KHII..._

_Note: _There's not much to say about this one I guess… Except that I am finally having fun with it, after such a long break.

**Chapter Six**

Axel's profanity filled shouting could be heard echoing down the streets of Hollow Bastion, the thick walls hardly muffling it at all. Yuffie leaned miserably against the opposite wall, hands over her ears and weary eyes watching his every movement as he slammed furniture around and knocked over piles of Merlin's books. Riku didn't appear to even notice the red headed man's fury, as he sat motionless beside Yuffie in the dimly lit room.

Leon stood silently beside Aerith, who looked like she might burst into tears at any moment. As Axel stalked past them again she held out a shaky hand, then quickly pulled it back as Leon shook his head at her.

Sora was once again hiding in the corner with his head in his hands, mumbling quietly to himself.

Finally, with one last painful stream of curses, Axel slammed his fists against the wall and rested his head there for a long time.

After a few quiet minutes, Sora looked up, his eyes filled with pain and desperation.

"Why would they do that?" He whispered sadly. "Why would they just do that to her? They didn't try to use her for leverage or anything!" His voice raised a bit and as Axel spun on him angrily he jumped to his feet.

"Don't you get it?!" Axel shouted at the boy, the fury in his voice no longer having any effect on them.

"They didn't want Kairi!" He shouted, punching the wall again and ignoring it as a stream of blood dripped down to the floor. Sora's eyes were suddenly filled with confusion, and Riku sighed heavily.

"They wanted Namine." Axel sighed, letting his back hit the wall as he slid to the floor.

Riku was the only one that didn't seem surprised by this, and Sora stepped toward him quickly.

"Namine? Why?" He asked, hoping Axel was wrong somehow.

He glared up at him with piercing green eyes.

"Why do you think? She's more powerful than any Nobody they've ever come across. She's their last chance!" He spat. Riku finally glanced over at them.

"But Namine never wanted anything to do with the Organization. Do you think..?" He trailed off as Sora's questioning gaze fell on him.

"That they found a way to control her? I think that's a pretty good bet at this point." Axel said heavily. Riku closed his eyes for a long time and Aerith's eyes welled up with tears.

"That poor girl…" She whimpered, turning to bury her face in Leon's chest. He flinched noticeably, but didn't push her away as everyone's eyes fell on her. He sighed and looked over to Axel.

"So what are we going to do?" He asked quietly. Everyone was quiet until Riku finally spoke.

"Obviously, we can't just ignore this. We need a plan." He said, staring harshly at Axel.

"No, they'll be expecting a plan. They're counting on Sora doing something to get her back. We need to get close to her, but she'll be able to see whatever we do through Sora's memories." Axel said quietly.

Realization dawned in Riku's eyes, and they both looked over to Sora.

"Axel, I'd like to see you outside for a moment." Riku said slowly, not looking away from Sora's confused gaze.

**x:X:x**

"Are you sure about this?" Axel mumbled in an irritated voice. He glared down at Sora as they walked along.

The ruins at the bottom of the Dark Depths loomed into view, and Riku's face mirrored the worry Axel felt.

"What if something happens? What if she's still here?" Axel asked quickly.

"Then maybe we can get through to her." Sora said in determination. Axel shook his head.

"Reason with a Heartless? Have you lost your mind?" He bit back sharply. "What if something happens and we have to fight? You want to hurt her?"

"Of course not! But this is our best shot at finding the Organization!" Sora glared back up at him with such force that Axel actually stopped in his tracks in surprise.

"Don't worry, if something happens we can run. We don't have to fight her." Riku assured him. Axel wasn't convinced, but stopped pressing anyway.

They paused at the edge of the ruins and watched as Sora walked in unaffected by the heavy darkness hanging in the air around them.

Riku and Axel exchanged a glance for a moment before Riku followed his best friend, and Axel sighed and muttered a curse under his breath.

The hallways were nearly black, and Axel trailed a hand along the wall as he listened to the footsteps ahead of him. After several long minutes of wandering through the dark, a dim light began to brighten up the halls and he could see Sora and Riku stopped at the doorway up ahead. The room on the other side was illuminated by a few shreds of light filtering in through the holes in the ceiling, and as he drew up beside them Riku motioned for him to be quiet.

He followed his gaze and could see two dark forms on the other side of the room talking quietly.

It didn't take long before a deep chuckle reached their ears and Sora's name could be heard across the room. A portal opened and the larger figure stepped back into it as the other turned and put their hands on their hips.

"You've got to be kidding…" A female voice reached them, and Axel glanced over as the keyblade appeared in Sora's hands.

Sora launched himself at the figure as an entertained and rather malicious giggle cut through the air, and Axel turned to look over at Riku.

"Well. That was pretty easy."

"Is that Larxene?" Riku asked. Axel nodded.

"Yea, this must be a pretty important place if they left her here to watch it." Axel replied with the distaste evident in his voice.

They watched as Larxene matched every strike of the keyblade, dancing gracefully out of the way and occasionally lashing out when he got too close. It was clear that she was enjoying herself, and after a few moments Sora began to slow down as thin lines of blood appeared on his skin. Riku sighed.

"I thought he was getting better, I guess he's just distracted. Time to step in I guess." He muttered to Axel, his own keyblade appearing as he began to walked forward.

He stopped abruptly in surprise as Axel loomed in front of him. A thin metal pipe was clutched in one hand and he stared down at Riku seriously.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you interfere."

Riku stared up at him in shock.

"What?" He asked flatly. Axel just shook his head.

"I've gone through too much because of Sora, did you really think I could just forget about it?" His voice was filled with venom and Riku just stared at him.

"You want the Organization to win? All this time, you just wanted to find a way to beat Sora, knowing you couldn't do it on your own?" Riku's voice was low, and he struggled to hold back the hysterical laugh building up in his chest.

Axel didn't respond, but took up a fighting stance when Riku tried to take another step forward.

"You're out of your mind." Riku spat, pushing past the older man as he hurried to help his best friend.

Sora and Larxene both stopped in surprise as the cry of pain reached their ears, looking over to see Riku sprawled on the ground clutching the side of his head in pain. Blood trickled down through his fingers and dripped onto the floor, and Sora's eyes widened in horror.

"Riku!" He dashed to his friend's side, and Axel jumped back as he swung the keyblade at him dangerously.

Axel watched with emotionless eyes as Sora tried to haul his friend to his feet, not even moving when Larxene's hand fell on his shoulder.

Her gut-wrenching laughter murmured in his ear and she sighed.

"Oh Axel, that was too good. I'd love to stay and play some more, but I think Marluxia is going to want to talk to you."

Sora shouted after him as he let Larxene lead him through the portal, and he missed the amused grin that crossed Riku's face.

**x:X:x**

Larxene was dancing. Axel watched in slight disgust as she pranced through the portal and came to a stop a few feet away, hands on her hips and a smug grin across her face. The room she stood in was dimly lit, the only source of light seemed to come in through the wide window that made up the left wall. It was nearly empty, except for a desk to the right and a low bookshelf. It was hard to miss the dark outline against the window that turned to gaze heavily at them.

"Look who I found!" She said in a low voice, turning to look back again as Axel stepped cautiously into the room.

Marluxia turned slowly, his eyes slightly doubtful as he looked Axel up and down. After a few tense moments he sighed and gave Larxene a sharp look.

"He has his heart, Larxene. You should have retreated and called Saix." He said flatly before turning back to the window.

Larxene looked shocked for a moment, then anger began to bubble up to the surface.

"Axel was one of the strongest of us, we need him." She said quietly. Marluxia turned to look at her again and a sneer crossed his face.

"And did you stop to think at all that maybe bringing him here would be a mistake? Look at him, he's powerless! The only use we have for him now is if he has any new information on Sora that Namine missed." He spat at her. Larxene's face fell and electricity crackled around her knuckles.

"Yes, actually, I did think about it. Would it really be so difficult to make him into a Nobody again?" She asked quietly.

Axel's eyes widened slightly and he fought to keep his breathing even. Marluxia snorted in amusement.

**End of Chapter Six**

_Note: I'm sorry this chapter was so ridiculously short! It just seemed awkward to run right into what's going on next chapter so I ended it here. But don't worry, the next chapter is almost done already so it's not going to be another horrible long wait… _


	7. Waking Up

_Disclaimer: I don't own KHII..._

_Note: I actually finished this chapter and then for some reason I thought I'd already posted it… _

**Chapter Seven**

His eyes opened heavily, the room spinning around him as he tried to sit up. A hand forced him back down again and a distant chuckle could be heard above him. He shoved the hand away and a violent growl broke through his lips. He stopped for a moment as confusion swept over him.

Was that his voice?

"How do you feel Axel?"

He didn't recognize the voice, and looked up with unfocused eyes to glare at the woman leaning over him. Her voice was far from musical, and as she reached for him again he pushed her back harshly and threw himself to his feet. This proved to be a mistake, as his head pounded angrily and the floor spun up to meet him again. That laugh pierced through his senses once again and he felt like he was going to throw up if it didn't stop.

"Axel?"

It was a man's voice now and he looked up.

Why did they keep calling him that? Was that his name?

"…What?" He mumbled in a broken voice, a voice he knew he should have recognized as being his own. This just added to the furious confusion he felt in his head and he lashed out again as a pair of strong arms forced him to his feet.

"Calm down, it'll pass." The voice boomed in his ear and he glared up at the man defiantly. He shoved the man back several steps and took some satisfaction in the look of surprise on his face.

"Axel, my name is Xaldin. I've known you for a very long time, though I know you don't remember." He said calmly, relaxing again to watch him brace himself against a wall.

Xaldin? That seemed familiar, though the hint of a memory filled him with a sense of dread. He didn't like these people, he couldn't remember why or how he knew them, but he didn't want anything to do with them.

"This is Larxene." Xaldin said gently, motioning behind him to where the blonde woman stood grinning. She stepped forward slowly and he imagined the look in her eyes was supposed to be calming.

"Axel, don't you remember me? We used to be such good friends. We all fought the keyblade master together…" Her voice trailed off and he caught the hint of disappointment in her eyes. She held out a hand to him carefully.

"You really don't remember anything at all? The keyblade master…" Her voice broke with a gentle sob and Xaldin's hand fell on her shoulder comfortingly.

"He killed you, we worked so hard to bring you back…" A tear traced down her cheek and she reached out to him again, her fingertips brushing along his arm.

A deep growl resonated in his chest and he glared sharply as her as flames leapt up to bite at her. She drew her hand back quickly and her eyes widened in shock.

"Stay the fuck away from me." Axel hissed, not even questioning where the flames had come from or why they didn't burn him. He moved along the wall until he reached the door, then opened it without turning his back on them.

They didn't seem to be following him, but he kept glancing around warily. He didn't know if there was anyone else he should be watching out for, and his eyes darted around him in near panic.

He must have wandered the long corridors and rooms for hours, never feeling tired. He still felt just as alarmed as when he'd woken up in the arms of someone he immediately hated, and the very thought made him move a bit faster.

He was starting to think this castle didn't have any exits when he came around a corner and his feet stopped so fast he nearly tripped over himself. There was a massive hole in the ceiling high above him, and bright sunlight filtered down onto a beautiful garden. Various flowers and roses were laid out carefully, and a small stream bubbled from a broken pipe across the room. Thick grass covered the floor anywhere there weren't flowers. He imagined it must have been a ballroom at some point, and watched in amazement as a breeze whispered in through the hole in the ceiling. But all of this wasn't what make his blood run cold; it was the girl resting comfortably in the grass thirty feet away.

She moved slowly, lowering her sketch pad and letting her gaze wander up to meet him. Her eyes were dead, there was no recognition or emotion whatsoever, and after a moment she looked down again and continued drawing.

He found this deeply unsettling somehow, and forced himself to move closer to her.

"You…" His voice was deep and defensive, though she didn't seem to notice.

"I know you." he said simply. he paused in front of her, waiting a moment to see if she would react. She didn't, and he couldn't help but feel stupid.

"What's your name?" He was harsher this time, and she looked up again. Her face was pale and sullen, and she emanated a deep sense of misery.

"Namine."

A blonde girl sitting in the same position, only this time laughter sang from her lips and her eyes shone with the intensity of the sun. The very image sent shivers down his spine, and she flashed him a joyful smile.

His breath caught in his throat at the sudden memory that found it's way into his mind. His hands flew up to his head and he let out a deep growl of frustration.

"I know you! Why can't I remember it?!" He shouted angrily. Her eyes betrayed no emotion and he felt the fury die at her lack of reaction.

A hand fell heavily on his shoulder and he jumped back several steps. A thin man with mousy brown hair grinned at him, and he felt that sickness rise up inside him again.

"Namine doesn't talk much. Don't worry, it happens sometimes. She'll be perfectly fine when she gets her heart back." He said simply, that false smile of reassurance poisoning the air around them.

Axel drew back several steps in confusion.

"What? Get her heart back?" He mumbled quietly. The man laughed slowly and nodded.

"I must say, Axel, we've never had a former Nobody regain their heart then become a Nobody again, so I can't really say what's happening to you. I'm sure it can't be healthy. I can run some tests if you'd like, try to find a way to get your memory back? I've never seen such amnesia before, it really is quite amazing." He drawled. Axel sneered subconsciously and continued stepping back.

"Uh, no thanks…" He said slowly, ready to run once again. But the man didn't advance at all, instead, he moved slowly over to Namine and crouched down in the grass beside her.

"Why don't you run along to your room, Namine? It'll be nice and quiet there."

She nodded slowly and Axel watched as she got to her feet in a daze and wandered away down the hall.

"That's disgusting. What did you do to her?" Axel hissed at the man. He seemed surprised at this, and got to his feet defensively.

"What? You mean you remember Namine? I had the understanding your memory was wiped clean." The man put a thoughtful hand to his chin and Axel forced back the growl.

"I remember enough to know this isn't how she normally is. What did you do to her?" He demanded it now and the other man simply grinned and shrugged.

"There wasn't much that needed to be done. After all she's been through, she was in shambles the moment we found her." He laughed then, and Axel found himself leaping at the man with his hands outstretched.

He darted away easily, but not before a burst of flame singed away a lock of hair. He frowned slightly and sighed.

"We're really going to have to work on that temper if you're to be of any use at all…" He mumbled.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Axel shouted, launching himself at the man again. This time, two circular weapons seemed to emerge from midair, and he found himself grabbing them instinctively. Without a second thought, he threw one so quickly it swirled in a flaming blur, whistling past its target and returning to Axel's hand once again. He stood there in surprise for a moment before he realize he hadn't missed, and the man gasped and fell to his knees in surprise. A grim laugh escaped his lips.

"So powerful so quickly, it's really quite impressive." He mumbled. Axel growled again and raised the vaguely familiar weapons above his head.

"Axel, that's quite enough."

He turned in surprise when he heard the voice behind him. Larxene was standing several feet away with her arms crossed, giving him a stern look. He dropped his arms and the weapons disappeared in a swirl of flame, leaving his fists balled at his sides in anger.

"Come on, I'll tell you what's going on since these morons are busy having fun." She said quickly, turning and walking away down the hall.

Axel hesitated for a moment before giving in and following her lead.

**x:X:x**

He had barely heard a word Larxene had said, he simply nodded and muttered replies occasionally. It seemed like she wasn't paying him much more attention. After hearing her side of the story about the "nobodies" and that evil keyblade wielder Sora, he couldn't help but want to laugh. It wasn't hard to see she was lying, and she was bad at it. He wanted the real story, and it was getting painfully obvious he wasn't going to find it here. The moment she dismissed him to explode the castle on his own, he practically ran from her presence. She had said it was to get to know the others better, but he caught the look of deep hatred in her eyes. She just wanted him to get away from her, now that her superiors weren't watching them.

Of course, the first thing he did was try to find Namine.

She was walking down a hallway when he nearly ran into her. Her babysitter was nowhere to be seen, and he quickly took her by the arm and began to lead her away. She didn't complain, but every time he looked into her face her eyes were unnaturally unfocused and glazed. He pulled her along for a while until he found an empty room at the end of a long hallway and pushed her inside.

There were several long windows on one wall looking out at the dark evening clouds. Three matching couches sat in the middle of the room, and a shelf of books covered the wall by the door. Other than that, the room was empty, and the only light filtered in from the dark clouds outside. Namine hesitated for a moment before moving over and taking a seat staring directly out the window.

Axel watched her for several minutes, he wasn't sure what to do. He still didn't know exactly who she was, or why he felt so compelled to find out. Larxene had said something about how he and Namine had never really been friends, and that unlike other Nobodies, she developed strange powers instead of gaining physical strength. She said there was something wrong with Namine now, something the keyblade wielder had done that made her this way.

Axel couldn't help but feel that most of what he had heard today was a manipulative lie.

"Namine?"

She looked up at the sound of her name, but her eyes didn't hardly move and she stared blankly at him. He gulped back the nauseous feeling that rose up in his chest.

"Do you know who I am?"

Her head tilted slightly to the left and he thought he saw her eyes try to focus, but it was gone and she quickly looked away.

"Your name is Axel." She sighed.

He almost rolled his eyes, then shook his head and held up his hands.

"No, I mean… Other than that, do you remember me at all? Have we met before?" He knew he might be pressing her a bit, but he felt a deep sense of urgency. Almost as if the object of his life was now finding out why she was so important. Now that he thought of it, maybe it was.

She looked off into the distance and he watched as a look of concentration crossed his face. For a moment, it looked as if she was going to cry, and she inhaled sharply.

"You were wearing a white button-down shirt…" She mumbled, and for the first time her eyes actually focused on him, and she looked terrified.

Axel smiled. "You did know me. We were friends, weren't we? Do you remember anything else?"

Namine got to her feet and walked over to the window. He watched her press her hands against the glass as she stared out at the storm clouds now blanketing the horizon. Then she sighed deeply and Axel was by her side.

"Marluxia… He said the keyblade wielder wants to kill me. He said he's evil, and wants us all to die. We're unnatural creatures, and the keyblade wielder is coming here to rid the universe of us." She held her breath and closed her eyes, and for some reason Axel suddenly found himself leaning much too close to her. He stepped back slightly and thought for a moment.

"I don't think it's true. I think they've been lying to both of us." He said softly. She looked up at him and he could see how jumbled her thoughts were. There was so much more damage there than some boy with a keyblade could possibly have caused…

"They said you have a very strange power… I was wondering what it is?" Axel said carefully. Namine's eyes trailed off into the sunset again and she nodded.

"I'm connected to Sora. I can see into his heart, I can change his memories. Marluxia keeps telling me he's evil and we have to stop him, but I can see right into his _heart_." Her voice trembled slightly, and he reached out a comforting hand to touch her shoulder.

"He's so scared, he keeps thinking about the same girl. He doesn't know where she is, but she's gone and he's so worried about her…" Her voice broke slightly and Axel's eyes widened in surprise.

"So our evil enemy isn't even focused on us? He's worried about a girl? Who is she?" He asked quickly.

"Her name is Kairi. He keeps thinking it over and over." She sighed heavily and Axel jumped in surprise when she leaned into him and put her face in his chest.

"I don't know what to do… Marluxia keeps telling me if I don't stop him and make him forget, he's going to find me. He wants me to change his memories, but I can't help but feel like it's really wrong, and that Marluxia is the one that we should be worried about. He makes me watch him all day and tell him what's happening, and it's the same thing every time he asks. Sora just worries about that girl and keeps thinking of a man dressed like a Nobody. He keeps wondering if he's the one that took her, and where he might be." Axel patted her back lightly as she shook her head in misery. After several long minutes of silence, he finally decided to change the subject.

"Do you remember anything else?" He asked quietly. To his surprise, she looked up at him with a small smile.

"Sora thought of you today." She said softly. Axel stared down at her in shock.

"Me? He knows who I am?" He muttered. Namine nodded.

"That girl that's missing, he thinks about how much she must have loved you. And he wonders if you loved her, too." She smiled gently and Axel just stared back at her.

"What?" He never expected to get so much information from her, everything was such a shock he didn't even know how to react. Namine just smiled up at him.

"Is there anything else? Does he remember me from before?" He asked quickly. Her smile faded and she sighed.

"I can only see what he's thinking at the time, if I want to see older memories he's going to have to think of them." She said in an exhausted voice. Axel's face fell slightly.

"…Are you sure?" He asked in a soft voice. Namine's face lit up with a sharp glare.

"I don't see you mastering your powers the week after you got them…" She murmured darkly. He nodded and stepped back.

"Alright, fair enough. I suppose I should let you go before Marluxia notices you're missing." He turned back to the door and started to walk away, until Namine's hand tugged lightly at his cloak.

"Axel? Do you remember anything about me?" She asked in a small voice. She looked up at him hopefully, and he tried to think. Then he blushed.

"Maybe we should save that for another time…" He said quietly. She looked confused, but he opened the door and vanished into the hall before she could stop him.

**End of Chapter Seven**


	8. Slight Confusion

_Disclaimer: I don't own KHII..._

_Note: I'm back! It's nice to finally be home and writing again. _

**Chapter Eight**

His hands balled into fists at his sides, then he stretched his fingers nervously and paused to glanced over his shoulder. He took a moment to fidget nervously as he waited to see if anyone was following him. The hallway was just as silent as ever, and he forced himself to shake off the feeling that he was being watched.

Okay, his name was Axel. He could summon flames for no particular reason, the creepy artist girl drew his attention, and he seemed to be surrounded by people that were completely intent on manipulating him. He rolled these thoughts over in his mind as he wandered the never-ending corridors and stairways. He felt aimless, but at the same time he knew there was something incredibly important he should be doing. No matter how hard he tried to reach into the back of his mind and pull it out, he just couldn't seem to grasp what it was.

He gritted his teeth in frustration and narrowed his eyes in distaste as light flames started to dance over his knuckles. For some reason he had yet to discover, having these flames around him seemed like a filthy ability he would be glad to be rid of.

Footsteps down the hall caught his attention, and he hesitated as he tried to think of what to do. There was another hallway a ways back, but as he turned his head to consider running, he felt shame well up in his chest at the thought of running away again. He pushed aside the nervous thoughts and stood his ground.

The footsteps drew closer, and he watched curiously as a figure rounded the corner and started walking toward him. He didn't recognize the man, but he realized all at once that he didn't feel the same nausea as he did when that blonde woman or her cohorts were around.

The man was close enough now that he could see the outline of his mohawk and the dull glow of his eyes. His eyes narrowed in concern when he noticed the man approaching had the same dead features as Namine.

"You. What's your name?" He said loudly, fighting back the inexplicable worry he felt. The man didn't even look at him as he walked by, and he stood there for a long time watching him continue undisturbed down the hall.

"What the hell is going on around here?" Axel wondered aloud.

**x:X:x**

"How could he do something like that! I really thought he cared about us!" Yuffie fumed in indignation. She threw another shuriken and Riku glanced up to see it stick firmly in the wall where she had taped up a crayon drawing of the man.

"After everything we did for him!" She stomped her foot and reached into her pocket for another shuriken. Finding her pocket empty, she let out another irritated growl and stomped out of the room.

Riku snorted in amusement after she'd left, and Sora turned his weary gaze on his best friend.

"Please tell me he's still on our side." The boy groaned miserably. Riku turned to hide the grin, and shook his head.

"Who knows? Maybe he never left the organization, he could have been using Kairi to get close to us." He let out a sigh and looked up at the ceiling.

"Just think, if that's the case, then he really got Kairi thinking that he loved her. It's gonna break her heart once we get her back…" Riku said miserably. He was afraid to turn around and look at Sora, he knew his words were hurting him.

Sora let out a frustrated growl and slammed a fist into the floor.

"If I ever see him again, I swear I'm gonna kill him." He sounded so serious, but when Riku turned to catch his gaze, he almost burst into laughter. He looked so determined, he was so sure of what was going on, but he looked like such a child. His big blue eyes were shining in the light, his cheeks were flushed with anger, and for a moment Riku wondered if he actually had a wooden sword instead of a keyblade.

Then his frustration melted away and Riku watched as the boy started to tear up. There was a stinging feeling in his chest then, and he felt his lungs tighten painfully as he forced himself to look back at the wall and ignore his best friend.

It would all work out, it had to. Somehow, he knew Axel could save her.

**x:X:x**

"_Axel…"_

He spun around in alarm, expecting to see the girl standing right behind him. He knew he heard his name, and he could have sworn he felt her breath on his skin. A shudder ran down his spine, and he glanced up and down the hallway.

"_Axel, where are you?" _

"I'm right here!" He spun around again, then held still and wondered if he'd gone crazy. He could hear Namine's voice, but she was definitely nowhere near him.

"_Axel!" _

"Shit…" He murmured in confusion. She was looking for him, but where was she? He started down the hall, feeling anxious as he wondered if she was in trouble.

"_Axel!" _

"Damn it!" Axel cursed loudly as he broke into a run. If she was in trouble, he had no way to find her, he had no idea where he even was. He'd been wandering this castle for hours.

A chill ran down his spine and he glanced over his shoulder to see an orb of darkness swirling behind him. Shadowy tendrils lapped out at him, and it seemed to have a pulse, almost like it was watching him.

"_Axel! Where are you?"_

Her voice was definitely coming from the orb, and his hands balled into fists as he forced himself to step toward it. He hesitated nervously and reached forward to brush his fingers against it.

"_Come on!" _

He stared in surprise as a thin, pale arm reached out and latched onto his wrist, pulling him forward into the orb. He stumbled and all at once his vision was filled with a bright light. He felt the hand on his wrist let go, and he held his arms up to block the blinding light. It started to fade, and he noticed the thin form leaning over him.

Namine's face was filled with concern, and she put a hand on his shoulder in reassurance.

"Are you alright?" She asked nervously. He nodded and forced himself up on his feet.

"Yea, what was that..?" He asked hesitantly, glancing around for the dark orb and realizing it was gone.

"It was a portal. I'm sorry, but Marluxia is looking for me and I needed to talk to you." He glanced up at the frail girl as she started to nervously pace the room.

"What's wrong?" He asked, suddenly feeling extremely protective of the girl. She shook her head and started chewing gently on her fingernails.

"I've been watching Sora, Marluxia makes me tell him everything he does. But a little while ago, he started thinking about you." She was quiet for a moment, and Axel edged a little closer to her curiously. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and Axel held back the urge to ask her what she meant.

"He was thinking about how you tricked Kairi into falling in love with you. The two of you were together, but he thinks you were using her to get close to him, for the Organization." She paused again and Axel stared at her in shock.

"Do you know who she is?" Namine asked quietly. He tried to think.

Kairi? It didn't ring a bell. He shook his head.

"I have no idea." He said gently. He thought he saw a grim smile cross the girl's face, but it was gone and she wrapped her arms around herself nervously.

"He seems so confused, I think you should go talk to him."

"What?" Axel stared at her in surprise. "I thought he wants to kill us all." He said it sarcastically, but Namine looked like she wanted to cry.

"None of this makes sense. You lost your memory, right? What if you were friends with Sora? What if he can help us?" Her voice broke and a tear traced its way down her cheek.

"If I leave…" She shook her head, then turned to the side and gazed sadly as a swirling black portal rose from the floor.

"Please go see Sora, something isn't right. If we stay here, I think something terrible will happen."

Axel cursed lightly and shook his head again.

"Come with me, I don't want to leave you here." He said forcefully. A small smile tugged at her lips as she glanced over at him, but she shook her head.

"Just go, I'll be fine. He still needs me, he won't hurt me until it's over." She insisted, reaching out to take his hand and tug him toward the portal.

"Wait…" Axel protested as she released his hand and gestured for him to step through the portal.

He reached out and caught her wrist as she tried to pull away, but after a moment she stopped struggling.

"You remember me, don't you? I mean, from before." He asked. Namine blushed lightly and looked away. His eyes scanned over her face, then moved down to note how her arm moved closer to her body self-consciously. He wondered for a moment exactly what happened between them that looking at her made him feel so strange. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her close, he wanted to feel her lips brush against his neck. They had been much closer than just friends at some point in time, and it was killing him now that he couldn't remember.

Her fingers wound around the back of his neck, and his eyes widened in surprise as she pulled him down to her. Her lips were soft and she smelled like wild flowers and freshly cut grass. he put his free hand on her shoulder, then when she didn't protest he slid it down her back and let it rest on her hip. She leaned against him, and he felt himself blush as something like an electric jolt went through his body.

Then she pushed him away and he realized there were footsteps echoing down the hall. She offered him a joyful smile, then put her hands against his chest and pushed him back into the portal.

**x:X:x**

That was Sora, he knew the moment he saw the boy. He felt an odd feeling in his chest at the sight of him, like he reminded him of someone he used to know. He shook the feeling and narrowed his eyes in concentration as he studied the keyblade master.

He was obviously upset about something, and for a moment Axel wished Namine was here to tell him what the boy was thinking. He didn't look nearly as evil and dangerous as Larxene had insisted he was.

Axel watched from the top of the city wall as Sora walked somewhat aimlessly through town. He had his hands in his pockets and his head was lowered toward the ground. Sora paused to pull his hand out of his pocket and turn something over in his fingers. Axel caught a white flash as the sun glinted off the object, then Sora put it back in his pocket and looked up at the sky.

Axel rested his chin in his hand and sighed heavily. He really had no idea what he was supposed to do. He wanted to go talk to the boy, but they were on different sides. What if he attacked him before Axel got a chance to explain? He didn't want to hurt him.

As he was lost in thought, he almost missed the boy approaching Sora. His eyes snapped back to the two figures as Sora stopped to talk to the other boy. His long silver hair shone brightly in the afternoon sunshine, and for some reason he seemed much more intimidating than Sora.

He watched them talk for several minutes, then Sora shook his head and walked away. The boy with silver hair stayed for a moment and lowered his head to the ground. He stayed that way for a long time, and for some reason Axel found himself watching this boy instead of continuing on to follow Sora. Another few moments passed, and just as Axel was about to leave he noticed the boy glance in his direction. He looked forward again and started forward, then flinched noticeably and spun back to stare up at Axel.

He jumped to his feet nervously when he realized the boy had definitely seen him there, and they stared at each other for a few tense moments. Axel had no idea who he was or whether he was dangerous or not, but he wasn't interested in taking chances today. He glanced around to find an escape route, but when he looked down at the street again the boy was gone.

Axel cursed lightly under his breath, then leapt down from the wall and started to walk rather quickly down a side street. He glanced over his shoulder anxiously, waiting for the silver haired boy to suddenly appear behind him. He knew he must be following him now, he had seemed to recognize him. Whether that was good or bad, he had no idea.

"Axel!"

He jumped in surprise and his head snapped forward as he stared at the woman with wide eyes. She had long brown hair, big green eyes, and she seemed overly cheerful to see him.

He stood several feet in front of her ready to run, but she just smiled sweetly at him.

"I was so worried about you!" She moved forward and Axel flinched as she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. She stepped back again, and he stared down at her nervously.

"I thought the Organization got you, what happened?" He could see the overwhelming concern on her features as she gazed up at him. He opened his mouth, but couldn't think of what to say as he glanced around in confusion.

"Did you find Namine?"

His eyes snapped back to her face in surprise.

"Namine?" He heard himself murmur softly. The woman nodded.

"Isn't that who you were looking for? To help Kairi?" He was utterly confused now and had to look away and try to think.

This woman must know Sora, and she obviously knew who _he _was. If she was being so friendly, and she was a friend of Sora's, did that mean he used to be Sora's friend too? So Namine was right, he needed to get to Sora and find out what was going on. But then, she knew he was looking for Namine so she could help that other girl. Did Sora send him to the Organization to find her?

A hand fell heavily on his shoulder and he looked over sharply to see the same silver haired boy he'd been watching earlier. He was so confused at this point, all he could do was stare back into the boy's aqua eyes and he _smiled_ at him.

"You were starting to scare me, I thought maybe they brainwashed you or something!" The boy said in a joking tone. Axel eyed him suspiciously and glanced back over at the woman. There was concern on her face now, and she was staring intently at him.

"Axel? Are you alright?" The boy seemed to catch on that something wasn't right, and he stepped forward as Axel started to back away.

He watched as the two glanced at each other as confusion started to set in.

"Axel?" The boy asked carefully. He couldn't think of what to say, and after the two exchanged worried looks the boy put his hands to his head.

"Shit! Axel, do you know who I am?" He asked in frustration. He stared intently at him, and after a while Axel finally shook his head.

The boy cursed again and he looked over to see the woman put her hand to her mouth as a look of horror crossed her face.

"Oh Riku, he's one of them again…" She said softly as tears started to well up in her eyes. "His heart is gone…"

Riku let out another loud curse and then turned back to him.

"What the hell happened?! Did you at least find Namine?" He was completely frustrated, and Axel narrowed his eyes at him.

Maybe these people were his friends, but he wanted answers too.

"What do you need Namine for?" He asked sharply. Riku stared at him in horror for a moment.

"To save Kairi! Did you completely forget about her?!" Now he just looked angry, and Axel could feel the flames lapping at his knuckles again.

"Please don't do this, we can sit down and sort all of this out." The woman rushed between them and put her hands up. The worried look in her eyes was so calming, Axel felt the flames vanish as he straightened up to look at her.

"I'll go get Sora, and we can sort this out. It's fine, just calm down." She insisted when Riku didn't seem to relax at all. He paused for a second, then glared sharply at the two of them.

"No, don't tell Sora. He won't understand." He turned on the woman. "Aerith, please don't let Sora know Axel was here. It could ruin everything." He was so serious, he seemed to make the woman nervous, but she nodded hesitantly anyway.

**End of chapter eight**


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